


And So The Cards Fall

by timeblitz



Category: Marvel, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: A little, Claustrophobia, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, In a way, Injury, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Tony Stark Has A Heart, almost, im sorry idk how to tag this one tbh, its pretty tame dont worry, peter is not good with fallen buildings, uwu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-04 05:32:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16340711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timeblitz/pseuds/timeblitz
Summary: Peter drops off a battered suit and little explanation. Tony does a bit of digging.





	And So The Cards Fall

_ “Sir, you appear to have forgotten a few files.”  _

 

Tony turned around, giving the screen a confused look. “What? No I didn’t, I-” The computer had pulled up a window displaying several audio files he certainly did not remember ever creating a folder for. “So, what are those exactly?” 

 

Earlier in the day Peter had shown up on his doorstep, offering his tattered suit with an uneasy grin. The kid had gotten into some kind of trouble but didn’t stick around long enough for him to get the details. Just a quick, “I’m so so  _ so _ sorry Mr. Stark. I definitely didn’t mean for the suit to get so trashed. You can fix it though, right? I’m kinda worried since half of it’s gone and uhh, um, yeah. Yes. I’d stay and help but I’ve got a math test later today, you know how it is. Bye!” Good excuse. Except it was a Sunday. 

 

Tony decided to just let this one go for now. Peter was obviously frazzled and seemed beyond nervous. He was also sporting a limp, which Tony knew he should get up on, but whatever happened could wait for later. Suit first, lecture later. Besides, with any luck he’d be able to access the suit’s recordings and see what sort of scrape he’d fallen into this time. 

 

_ “The Spider suit seems to have created its own program to record chats between itself and Peter.” _

 

Tony pursed his lips, tapping his fingers on the counter. “Clever, a bit concerning, but clever. What’s more concerning is the amount of recordings here. Peter has friends, right?”

 

_ “Sir, you also have a tendency to talk to your AIs. You’re doing it right now.” _

 

“Peter has friends, right?” Tony repeated, scrolling through the folder. The recordings seem to have started soon after the whole Vulture incident. One every few days. And then it picked up a little. And a little more. Most of said recordings were short, only a minute or two long. Others seemed to be a full length conversation. One was almost an hour long. 

 

“ _ Would you like me to play them back?”  _

 

It would be a total disregard of privacy. “Yeah, go for it. Filter out those short ones, there’s probably nothing there anyways.” Tony leaned back in his seat, arms tucked behind his head. 

 

“Peter, I suggest you activate Instant Kill.” A voice that sounded too soothing and friendly for what it had just said played from the speaker. Soothing and friendly had been what Tony had been going for when he programmed it though, so he couldn’t complain. 

 

“What? No! How many times do I have to tell you, no killing!” And that would be Peter. 

 

“My apologies. However, this building’s structural integrity has been compromised and the fighting is only making it worse. I estimate it can take another four heavy hits before collapsing.” There was a thud. “Three heavy hits before collapsing.”

 

Glancing at the screen, Tony was able to tell when this all went down. Yesterday. Guess this audio would be the key to figuring out what happened. “Shit!” Peter suddenly hissed out. Tony almost shot back a patronizing ‘Language’. It was a habit. 

 

“You’ve been shot in the leg. Would you like me to contact Mr. Stark?” 

 

“No!” He sounded a bit desperate there and Tony leaned forward in his seat. “I can handle this!”

 

“There appears to be people on the bottom floor. If the building collapses they will be crushed.” 

 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Peter muttered, his voice sounding a little muffled. “Okay Karen, switch to taser webs. I gotta take care of these guys quick and get everyone out.” 

 

“Certainly.” Tony wishes he had the video to go with, but that part of the scene was currently being transferred back to the suit and messing with it now probably wasn’t a good idea. He should have just made a copy, but it was too late now. No worry though, this would work well enough. 

 

The next few minutes consisted of grunts and crashes as Peter dealt with the baddies. “God, why are you two so heavy?” The young hero huffed out, and then a few minutes later, “Okay everyone! You need to get out now, this building is set to fall. Out out, yup, that way.” Tony couldn’t help but feel a small spark of pride as he listened to Peter guide everyone outside. 

 

“Please! My daughter, she’s still upstairs! I can’t leave without her!” A shrill voice cut through the air.

 

“Karen!”

 

“My sensors indicate a small heat signature from the upper half of the building.”

 

“Now you tell me.” He muttered. “Mam, I need you to leave the building. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure your daughter gets out. Now go!” 

 

“Peter, the building has a seventy percent chance of collapsing before you reach her.” 

 

“G-good. I like a challenge.” 

 

“Your heart rate has greatly increased. Would you like me to call Mr. Stark?”

 

“No!” Tony heard the pitter patter of feet running up the stairs and a heavy panting. A moment later a door could be heard swinging open and smacking up against the wall. “Hello?” Peter called out. “Anyone in here?” There was a small whimper that barely got picked up by the suit and less then a second later another door opening. “Hey hey, don’t worry. I’ve got you.” Peter murmured in a soothing voice. 

 

“I want my mom!” Replied a wobbly voice. “It’s too loud!” 

 

“Your mom is waiting for you, come on we-” Peter was cut off by a loud groaning from the building. Tony could just imagine the building lurching to the side as the girl let out a loud terrified screech. 

 

“The building has roughly two minutes left before it goes down. There won’t be enough time to go back down through the main floor.” Karen piped in. 

 

“Uhh, window?” Peter asked, his voice getting nervous. 

 

“Window?” The kid echoed.

 

“Yup!” Peter yelped as something fell with a loud shattering noise. “Window right now!” Tony could hear a couple footsteps before the building gave another grating noise as metal slid against more metal. “C’mon c’mon c’mon!” Peter was muttering to himself. 

 

The building suddenly went quiet in a very ominous way and Tony found himself leaning forward in his seat just a little bit more. “Peter-” Karen started. There was a piercing loud noise as something big cracked and fell down. The kid’s scream could only barely be heard above it and Peter cried out as if something hit him. For a solid minute all that could be heard was the little girl crying and Peter grunting as if he was struggling with something. 

 

“Karen!” He finally choked out. “Web grenade. Now.” There was the sound of glass shattering and the building gave another creak. “O-okay kiddo, here’s what we’re gonna do.” Peter was sounding more and more strained. “I can’t move my other arm yet because of the roof. I need you to trust me here. There’s a b-bunch of webs right outside the window and I’m gonna toss you to them okay?”

 

“No!” The kid cried out with a hiccup. “Too scary, I want my mom!” She wailed.

 

“I know bud. Your mom is w-waiting outside for you though. You’re gonna have to be real brave. I know it’s scary but I know you can do it. Be a hero like me, okay?”

 

“...Okay.” 

 

“Count of three. Try to jump off my when I throw. One… Two… Three!” Peter gave a loud grunt and the kid screamed again but it must have worked because he gave a sigh of relief a few seconds later. 

 

“Thank god.” He whispered. The building gave another lurch and he took in a sharp breath. “Karen, what are my options here?”    
  


“I’m afraid we don’t have many. With both your arms you can keep the roof up longer but the floor isn’t very stable either. You can’t jump out the window after the child, the roof will catch you before you can get out.”

 

“Fuck.” Peter’s breathing was becoming a bit more erratic. “What else?”   
  


“You could try holding the roof up as you make your way to the stairs. Halfway down there’s a fire escape but it’s barely accessible due to the debris. You have a twenty seven percent chance out getting out that way before the floor falls to the next floor.”   
  


“How much would it hurt if the floor fell?”

 

“A lot.”    
  


“R-right. Stairs it is.” For the next few minutes all Tony could hear was Peter’s laboured breathing and the sound of the building slowly breaking down around him. 

 

“Peter, avoid that spot in front of-” There was a loud clanging and even louder crashing. For the next five minutes all there was was Karen repeating Peter’s name and the sound of rubble settling down into place. 

 

Eventually Peter let out a low and long groan of pain. “K-Karen?” He mumbled.

 

“I’m here Peter. Please stay calm.”    
  


“Stay calm? Why…. oh. Oh no. Oh no no no no!” There was a frantic scrambling noise as Peter began to hyperventilate. “No please! Not again, please please please!” 

 

“Peter, please stop moving. You need to calm down or else it could collapse on top of you further. Your leg is still injured as well so trying to get up isn’t a good idea yet.” 

 

“Further?” He squeaked. “I already can’t move my legs or my arm!” 

 

“There’s a thick sheet of metal over us so I can’t send out a call. I’d imagine that someone outside has already called the police though. You just need to wait for some help.”    
  


This seemed to fly right over Peter’s head. He was still breathing fast and erratically. “Please not again.” He whimpered and Tony’s heart seemed to snag.  _ ‘Again?’  _ He thought to himself.  _ ‘What’s he talking about?’ _

 

There was another shuffling sound and Karen gave her warning again. “Sorry.” Peter sniffed out. “Sorry, I just-” He paused for a second. “Bad memories. Don’t wanna be stuck under a building again. Not fun. You sure you can’t get a signal?”   
  


“I’m sure. Would you like to talk about it? Maybe it will help you stop moving.” Karen prodded in her ever so calm voice. 

 

“Uhhh….” Peter seemed to mull over this for a bit. “I guess?” He eventually muttered. “There’s not much to say. Toomes knocked a building on me when I didn’t have you with me. It sucked and I’m not a fan.” His voice hitched again. “Really not a fan.” 

 

“I’m not a fan either.” Karen said sympathetically. “Your heartbeat is still rather fast. Let’s talk about something else.” Karen did an excellent job keeping Peter’s mind busy for the next twenty minutes. She managed to prompt him into a rant about Star Wars which really was the key to keeping his panic levels down. Still, every now and then there would be a shift in the debris and Peter’s words would stop for a moment then start back up, faltering at every little thing for the next couple of minutes. 

 

The entire time Tony couldn’t help but try to think of what he could do. Add a stronger connection back to him so Peter could call for help no matter what was between him and the sky, add onto the air filter in his mask to not only keep out gas, but dust too, make the AI better at sensing the vibrations in the ground for closer estimates. He didn’t let himself get too worked up over it, Peter had obviously came out alive, but he still couldn’t help but grit his teeth at the kid’s fear. Plus, this whole thing about Toomes dropping a building on Peter before was sticking in the back of Tony’s mind like a sore thumb. It was clear that Peter hadn’t mentioned it so he wouldn’t get in as much trouble but he really should have. And of course that made Tony sit and think about what else the kid hadn’t told him about that night. 

 

Tony sped up the recording a bit to get to the end. Eventually the fire department showed up and helped to lift the building off a very grateful Peter. He denied any medical treatment or help from them and before they could try to stop them he gave a cheerful goodbye and swung off. (At least Tony assumed he swung away. There was some wind and a faint whooshing noise). 

 

“Peter, would you like me to call Mr. Stark now? I have a good connection now that you’re out.” 

 

Peter seemed to debate this for a moment. “No, I’ll be alright. My leg is hardly bleeding anymore and nothing else feels too busted up. I’ll see him tomorrow to get you fixed up anyways. So no, don’t call him.”

 

“Alright. But be sure to tell him what happened. I’m sure he’d like to know.” 

 

“Yeah. Probably.” And then the recording stopped. 

 

Tony stuck his arms behind his head and leaned back in his chair with a small huff. This was the kind of stuff Peter really should be telling him about. Karen too, the AI was supposed to be sending big conflicts back to him regardless of what Peter told it. Tony didn’t want to be nagging at him all the time but damn, the kid really needed to learn to put a little trust in him. He gave a shake of the head and swiveled his chair around. Fix the suit now, confront Peter later. 

 

\------------------------------------------

 

Peter flopped down on the couch with a grin on his face. He had just taken off the suit, now back in one piece and somewhat upgraded, after testing it out and tucked it away in his bag. “Thanks a ton Mr. Stark!” He kicked his feet up and over the back of the couch, his head hanging over the front. “Sorry for the short notice on that all. I just didn’t want to be out of commission for too long.”

 

“No problem kid.” Tony leaned against the back of the couch and looked down at the teen. “So,” He started off tactically. “How’d the suit get so torn up anyways? You were in a bit of a rush and didn’t tell me.” 

 

“O-oh! I didn’t? I could have sworn I did.” Peter gave a nervous shrug. “It was just a lot of wear over a bit of time. I know you don’t want me to overdo it but I was just really getting into it last week, ya know? So many crooks and not enough time.”

 

“Really now?” Tony raised an eyebrow. “You sure that’s the excuse you wanna stick with? I thought you were more clever than that.”   
  


“I don’t-”

 

“Turns out your suit records audio.” Tony cut him off. “Video too but I heard what happened before I saw it and you and I both know that little fact already.”

 

“Heard what?” Peter flopped back down into an actual sitting position. He nervously eye’d Tony’s fingers as they tapped on the top of the couch.

 

“Heard a whole ass building fall on top of you, that’s what.” His fingers stopped moving. “And you telling Karen that it’s not even the first time it’s happened.”

 

Peter was still for a moment. It was obvious he was trying to come up with some sort of excuse but eventually he gave up and shrugged again. “Yeah, but it’s okay. I’m fine and nobody got hurt.” 

 

“Kid, you sounded like you were on the verge of a panic attack the whole time. I wouldn’t quite call that okay.” Tony crossed his arms over his chest. “You should have told me what happened then and you should have told me when it happened with Toomes. You can’t keep keeping secrets from me, I’m supposed to be making sure you don’t die. That’s hard to do when you won’t keep me updated.” 

 

“I know, I just…” Peter stalled. “I just gotta get tougher, you know? I doubt that’s the last time a building is gonna fall on me. I lived through it twice now, I can do it again. And the second time wasn’t even that bad!” He was working himself up a little. “And there are things way worse than that. I mean, I got shot in the leg and kept going. I can deal with it! And if it  _ really _ gets bad I  _ will _ call you, I swear!”

 

“You know, I wasn’t going to say anything about your leg but since you’re trying to use it as an excuse, I will. Bullets and ceilings are  _ both _ a no go. What if it wasn’t your leg that got shot? Even your healing factor can’t fix a literal hole through the heart.” 

 

Peter shot him and indignant look but slumped down further on the couch. “...I know. I’m sorry.” 

 

Tony ran a hand through his hair before shifting around the arm of the couch and sitting down next to Peter. “I don’t want to put you down or anything kid. It’s just easy to worry about you. Anything could go wrong at any moment even on little jobs. I need to make sure you’re as safe as I can get you.” 

 

Peter gave a small nod. Tony knew he didn’t need to pound it in any more, he got his point across. “Hey, you want ice cream?” He suddenly asked. “Because I’m really feeling ice cream right now. Specifically the cookies and cream I’ve got in the fridge.”

 

“Yeah, ice cream sounds pretty good right now.” The teen gave a smile. “I’ll go grab it. You want the big bowl?”

 

“You take the bowl, I’ll just eat out of the container.” Peter shot him a look and Tony waved a dismissive hand. “I’m Iron Man, if I wanna eat out of the container I will.” 

 

“That’s fair.” Peter stuck his tongue out at his mentor before scurrying off to grab the frozen treat. Tony leaned back against the couch.  _ ‘Kids.’  _ He thought to himself with a smirk.  _ ‘The day they stop trying to stick it to the man is the day I retire. Though I guess I can’t complain. I was  _ way  _ worse than Peter.’ _

**Author's Note:**

> long time no see hello i found this half written in my drive and wanted to finish it


End file.
